AndreasHG

You can read here the changes to the VAT regime enforced by the Thai customs: Thailand makes key interim changes for collection of VAT/excise tax on Low-Value Goods imports | EY - Global In a nutshell: "LVGs [i.e. low-value-goods] [...] are defined [...] as goods valued at not more than 1,500 Thai baht". The "import of LVG into Thailand is specifically exempted from duty" and "from the 7% VAT". However, from "5 July 2024 to 31 December 2024" "the import VAT exemption applies only to LVG valued not exceeding THB 1. For goods valued over THB 1 but not exceeding THB 1,500, import VAT shall be levied and collected by Thai Customs". These goods are still exempted from Import Duty. My guess is that UPS is charging you the 7% VAT. It is not yet clear what will happen after 31 december 2024 (TIT).

Nothing to do with chocolate. The history of the Moka Pot may be found here, and it's interesting: Moka pot - Wikipedia And of its predecessor: Neapolitan flip coffee pot - Wikipedia

Poor maintenance is possibly the cause of the failure. The state of trucks in Thailand is disastrous. The vehicles are often extremely old and there seem to be no technical checks, to ensure that the vehicles are kept in good condition. I saw firsthand a (smaller) truck experiencing a breaks failure in Bangkok, at a traffic light, and wrecking two cars in the line next to mine in the process.

Farage pushed the Conservatives to the right. And now that the Tories are firmly positioned in the "bigots" and "extremists" field, he is ready to take their place at the center of the political spectrum and relegate them to the fringes. A real masterstroke. Who would have thought it from the most underrated clown in English politics?

Not to mention the crowd of perfectly fine, law-abiding, God-fearing Americans who attempted to "stop-the-steal" on January the 6th, 2020. A truly representative sample of the average Trump's voter, the same voters Trump proudly calls "basement-dwellers".

What is surprising is that, among the advanced, and sometimes also the not so advanced, democratic countries, this issue is unique to the USA. It is not easy to understand why French, Germans, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Italians, Polish, Indians generally have faith in the fairness of their electoral systems, while so many Americans don't trust theirs. When faced with a serious problem, it is common practice in the USA to come out with a bipartisan solution. The fact that this issue has never been addressed leads one to think that it is not a real problem. Not for the Dems, who prefer to guarantee maximum accessibility to the ballot boxes. And not for the Republicans, who benefit from an effective propaganda theme, which they know has no real impact on the outcome of the elections. Both parties see no benefit in changing the status quo, despite the fact that it generates distrust in the electoral process, a situation unique among advanced democracies. The only real beneficiaries are social media. The inflammatory posts published by both sides on "rigged elections" often go viral, generating millions of lucrative clicks.

Meloni, unlike Trump, has followed a coherent political path, firmly located on the right of the political spectrum, evolving from neo-fascism, which she enthusiastically embraced as a young woman in the late 90s, to her current social conservatism. Her priorities have always been Italy first, Europe second, and the rest of the world somewhere far behind. Unlike Trump, who loves bombastic proclamations, disdains details, has no strategic or even tactical vision, confuses real leadership with playing as a leader in a TV-show, does not care about concrete results, and is grossly unfit to lead the United States of America, Meloni is all action and little talk. She is focused on tangible results, and she is ready to pragmatically pursue them, working with anyone, no matter their background or political opinions. As published by a number of media outlets (Politico, BBC, Time Magazine, etc.) Meloni still enjoyes an approval rating above 40%, "improbably high for an Italian PM two years into the job". Not a small feat, considering that, since the end of World War II, Italy has had 69 governments, at an average of one every 1.11 years.

I bought from Shopee a Xiaomi Mi Smart Standing Fan 2 Lite, and I am happy with it.

And also pity the amateurism of the Hezbollah and the Ayatollahs who sponsor them.

At present, it seems as if every man seen carrying a weapon in the vicinity of Donald Trump is automatically regarded as an assassin. Does anyone know? Is the Second Amendment always suspended in Donald Trump's proximity? Is the Second Amendment still strictly enforced only in American schools and daycares?

There is a chance he understands it. But zero chances his loyal base do. They leave in a world where magic things happen. Magic like the Chinese paying for the import duties. Or magic tree money not feeding into inflation. Magic tree money like the one printed using the tool below:

This guy is a clown. He has been Communist, then Padanian separatist and now Italian nativist. The only thing he constantly stubbornly refuses is doing some honest work. Matteo Salvini - Wikipedia

It's ironic that the USA contributed to the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine in favor of Russia, while Russia supports the development of the Iranian nuclear arsenal against the US and its allies. The USA signed the Trilateral Statement on January 14, 1994, in which Ukraine committed to full disarmament, including strategic weapons, in exchange for economic support and security assurances from the United States and Russia The US is also a signatory of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. Signed on 5 December 1994, it provided security assurances to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, relating to their accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, endorsed by three nuclear powers (Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom) while China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.

What are farangs resident in Thailand, if not one of the spearheads of world globalism? I am fine with right wings governments, as far as they don't win traction in Thailand. The Khmer Rouge showed us that, what happened in Nazi Germany, could also happen in South-East Asia.

1. I agree: the help of a lawyer is not necessary. Nevertheless, I am glad I asked for support the first time I applied. With regards to extensions and 90 days reports, I managed them without any help. 2. I do not understand what you mean by embassy "letter". To open the bank account, I had to provide a photocopy of my passport, with the stamp of the Embassy Consular office and a signature. Is this a "letter"? 3. Siam Legal did not assist me in opening the bank account. They only assisted me for the VISA application.

It's amazing how quickly things have gotten out of control in Sweden. European newspapers report horror stories of teens used by criminal gangs in Sweden to commit crimes, sometimes even crossborder crimes committed in Denmark. I hope Sweden can restore law and order soon.

It would be advisable to seek legal assistance from a reputable lawyer. Many of the documents you mention are not required. Most of the forms required by the Immigration are available online. I stay in Thailand on a retirement VISA without health insurance. I applied for the VISA while being in Thailand, as instructed by the lawyer I consulted. Before coming to Thailand I applied for a 3-months Single Entry Tourist Visa. A friend of mine, who applied while in the USA for the Retirement VISA more than 10 years ago, is still required to have the insurance. The "most difficult" thing was to open a bank account. I opened my account with Bangkok Bank. It is essential to apply in a branch which routinely deals with expats, where the staff is fluent in English. The branch located on the ground floor of the Exchange Tower, Asoke, Bangkok, did the trick for me. All I had to show was a photocopy of my passport stamped and signed by my embassy, the passport, and a copy of the 1-year lease contract for my apartment. This is the law firm that supported me with my application: Siam Legal International | Law Firm in Thailand (siam-legal.com).

Human beings are also perfectly capable of putting aside their own self-interest for the greater common good. For example, this is the reason why we pay taxes. Only sociopaths are exclusively motivated by their own self-interest. And when a nation is dominated by sociopaths, its fate is to be isolated from the international community, to which it would otherwise belong.

A first step in this direction has been achieved by ousting Britain from the Union. Now it is essential to get rid also of the national Veto system to isolate, and eventually expel, those countries which only joined to exploit the EU for self-interest.

Thank you: it is contradictory. Actually, it's my mistake. I should have written: "This means that, if you are resident of Thailand, your pension and annuities are only taxed in Thailand. They are not taxable in Australia..."

Professional Moving Services Thailand | International Movers Thailand | Asian Tigers Thailand (asiantigersgroup.com) I used (from Europe to Thailand) and recommend them.

Everyone receives the education they deserve.

Learn how to write in English! You wrote: "So that means both Somachai and his wife can work and earn 24k per month and they don't have to file tax returns (well they should, but no tax would be due)." If they both earn 24k, they earn a total of 48k per month or 576k/year.

This means that, if you are resident of Thailand, your pension and annuities are only taxed in Thailand. They are not taxable in Thailand (it's possible there are exceptions such as pensions paid to public servants).

It doesn't. Take as an example the Article 20, paragraph 2. of the Treaty between Thailand and the USA: "[...] social security benefits and other similar public pensions paid by a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State or a citizen of the United States shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State". It's clear that the social security income is only taxable in the US (and, unless the Treaty is terminated by one of the parties, which is very unlikely, it will not be taxable in Thailand in the future). Paragraph 2. on the other end states: "Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 21 (Government Service), pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that State." Thailand always had the right to tax the US pensions (except those specified in Article 21, paragraph 2 of said Treaty). Up to now however Thailand did not levy any tax.